Hair control accessory

ABSTRACT

A hair control accessory is disclosed, comprising an elongated band of material having a slit approximately parallel to the longest dimension of the elongated band, said slit being able to accommodate at least part of a person&#39;s hair to be passed through; and a reinforcing profile affixed within the band enabling the band to achieve and maintain a variety of shapes adjacent a person&#39;s hair as manipulated by the user.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation of Provisional U.S. Patent Application60/563,092, filed Apr. 16, 2004.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a simplified and improved accessory to help aperson achieve and retain an attractive “up-do” hair style by applyingthe accessory to normally free falling hair without requiting use ofheat or special implements.

A person's hair is often a source of visual pleasure to others and asource of heat and discomfort and esthetic concern to the personhim/herself. Various devices have been provided to retain one's hairaway from the neck and shoulders in different shapes collectively knownas up-do shapes, but such devices frequently turn out to be cumbersome,expensive, or unsightly.

P, Harvie U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,110 disclosed a hair wrap device having aflat ductile member capable of retaining its coiled shape arranged on abacking of approximately equal thickness with the side edges of thebacking folded over on the side on which the metallic member is placed.The flat ductile member and folded portions of backing form a flatsurface to receive a decorative cover. The device may be coiled alongits length or along its width about a bundle of hair

D. Schach U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,723 disclosed a styling device comprisinga generally peanut shaped outer covering of material capable of clingingto hair, an intermediate layer of resilient film attached to the outercover along the periphery, and a deformable structure in the interior ofthe device capable of being bent into a variety of shapes.

J. Ripley U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,638 disclosed 3 hair accessory includingfirst and second compressible flexible holder arms received about abendable wire. A central joint member is located between the first andsecond holder arms and has a dimension at least as great as thedimension of the holder arms.

D Schach U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,631 disclosed a styling device comprisingan elongated shaped outer covering, an elongated deformable structurewithin the interior of the device capable of being bent to form avariety of shapes, and a centrally located elongated opening within thematerial to expose a central region of the deformable elongatedstructure, the opening being adapted for partial withdrawal of thecentral portion of the deformable structure to permit hair to be passedthrough a region lying between the withdrawn portion of the deformablestructure and the elongated opening.

B Hansbury U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,672 disclosed a length of sheet materialfor use as a hair decorative having a pocket in which a ductile wirewith fiber covering is secured. A gripping member is attached mediallyfor gripping a hair bundle. The device is wrapped about the hair bundleand secured thereto with a twist of the device ends.

The shopping website http://www.asseenontv.com/ features an item calledHairagami illustrated by two snap-action strips joined at one end and bya picture of the item used to hold hair in a ponytail.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with this invention, there is provided a hair controlaccessory comprising an elongated band of material having a slitapproximately parallel to the longest dimension of the elongated band,said slit being able to accommodate at least part of a person's hair tobe passed through; and a reinforcing profile affixed within the bandenabling the band to achieve and maintain a variety of shapes adjacent aperson's hair as manipulated by the user.

The material of the band can be woven fabric, a non-woven fabric, or aplastic film, preferably a woven fabric of natural and/or syntheticfiber such as cotton, nylon, polyester, spandex, wool, and blendsthereof. Without the reinforcement, the material is flexible enough totake any desired shape but is not able to hold that shape.

The reinforcement is sufficiently flexible to be bent by hand into anydesired shape and firm enough to hold that shape. The reinforcement canbe a wire or strip having round, elliptical square or rectangularcross-section, wires used in ladies' undergarments and strips as foundin men's shirt collars being illustrative of the requisitecharacteristics.

The reinforcement is affixed to the elongated band so as to avoidcontact with the user's hair or skin, preferably by being entirelysurrounded by the material of the elongated band. Thus, a reinforcementcan be placed between two pieces of band material and affixed in placeby glue or stitching; the two pieces can be initially separate, or canbe the edge and main body of a single sheet folded over thereinforcement and fixed in place.

The reinforcement is preferably placed near the edge of the material andpreferably follows the contour of the material in an approximatelyparallel path.

The slit can be placed anywhere within the elongated band, preferablynear the midline thereof. The slit can be a simple scissor cut orsomewhat broader. To adapt to persons with sparser than average orfuller than average heads of hair, the length of the slit can range fromas little as 20% to as much as 80% of the longest dimension of theelongated band. To keep the fibers exposed at the slit from fraying, theslit can be finished by stitching or with a length of piping around theedge. Such piping can have a rough texture to provide additional gripfor holding the hair in place.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In each of the drawings described, elements common to more than onefigure bear the same reference number at each occurrence.

FIG. 1 a is a top view from the interior of an accessory according tothe invention showing the reinforcement affixed between two pieces offabric by a row of stitches on either side of the reinforcement.

FIG. 1 b is a top view from the interior of an accessory similar to thatof FIG. 1 a but also including an applied finish surrounding the slit.

FIG. 1 c is a diagrammatic view of an applied finish as shown in FIG. 1b

FIG. 1 d shows a vertical cross-section through the device shown in FIG.1 b along the lines 1 f-1 f.

FIG. 1 e is a top interior view of the device of FIG. 1 b

FIG. 1 f is a vertical cross-section view of an accessory according tothe invention showing the folding of the fabric of the elongated bandaround the reinforcement.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As seen in FIG. 1 a, a hair accessory 10 according to the inventioncomprises an elongated band 11 of approximately rectangular shape withthe outer edge 12 and the inner edge 13 rounded to avoid sharp corners.The band includes two pieces of fabric of substantially identical sizeand shape positioned above and below a wire 16 serving as reinforcement.A reinforcement chamber 15 surrounding the wire is defined by twosubstantially parallel rows of stitching, one inward of the wire 16 andone between the wire 16 and the outer edge 12. The inner edge 13 of theelongated band surrounds a slit 14 whose dimensions are chosen so as toaccommodate greater or lesser amounts of the wearer's hair as desired.

As shown in FIG. 1 b, the hair accessory 10 according to the inventionof FIG. 1 a can be modified by the added optional applied finish 17surrounding slit 14. The applied finish can be a piece of rubberymaterial, a line of soft plastic welting following the outline of slit14, or a combination of these. The texture of the applied finish is suchas to provide excellent grip to the hair passed through the slit. Thiscan be accomplished, for example, by a somewhat irregular or nubby shapeof the applied finish, as well as by having the composition of therubber or plastic enhance its gripping quality. Suitable compositionsare known in the art and commercially available.

One form of applied finish 17 is shown in FIG. 1 c as viewed from theinterior of the hair accessory. As shown in FIG. 1 e, in a hairaccessory according to the invention such as that of FIG. 1 b some ofthe features seen in the interior view of FIG. 1 b are not visible whenthe same item is viewed from the outside. Hence the reinforcement wire16, the reinforcement chamber 15 and slit 14 are not shown in this view.

It should be noted that the vertical line labeled 1 f at the top andbottom is an imaginary line drawn to identify the location of thevertical cross section through a hair accessory according to theinvention such as those shown in FIGS. 1 a, 1 b, and 1 e that are shownin FIGS. 1 d and 1 f respectively.

In FIG. 1 d representing a vertical cross-section through the hairaccessory of FIG. 1 b along the imaginary line 1 f-1 f, there are seenfrom left to right the outer edge 12 of the elongated band 11, thereinforcement chamber 15 surrounding reinforcement wire 16, thecontinuing expanse of the elongated band 11 reaching the slit 14 coveredby applied finish 17 and continuing to the right the same elements againin the reverse order.

In FIG. 1 f there is shown a vertical cross section of a furtherpreferred embodiment of the hair accessory according to the invention,in which the reinforcement wire 16 is disposed between two folds of theelongated band instead of a reinforcement chamber defined by stitching.

It should be reiterated that the applied finish 17 is an optionalelement. Thus a vertical cross section through a hair accessory withoutan applied finish, such as that shown in FIG. 1 a, would show slit 14 asa gap in the middle of a drawing otherwise similar to FIGS. 1 d and 1 frespectively.

The hair accessory according to the invention can be used, for exampleto put up the wearer's hair in a so-called twisted bun, by parting avery small top section of hair, pulling it through the slit 14 in theelongated bald, and then twisting it upwards twice; then the hair ispulled straight up and rolled up, not under. Throwing the head forward,the wearer then gathers the remaining hair and wraps the two ends of theelongated band around, crossing and twisting them securely.

To put the hair up in a so-called French Twist, the wearer makes a highponytail and puts the hair through the slit 14. Then the accessory ispositioned about half way up the length of the hair, and the hair iswound all the way under until it cannot be wound any more. The accessoryis then turned sideways, and the ends are turned in the oppositedirection of the twist to hold it in place.

1. A hair control accessory comprising an elongated band of materialhaving a slit approximately parallel to the longest dimension of theelongated band, said slit being able to accommodate at least part of aperson's hair to be passed through; and a reinforcing profile affixedwithin the band enabling the band to achieve and maintain a variety ofshapes adjacent said person's hair.
 2. The hair control accessory ofclaim 1, wherein the material of said band is selected from the groupconsisting of woven fabric, non-woven fabric, and plastic.
 3. The haircontrol accessory of claim 1, wherein said reinforcing g profile is awire.
 4. The hair control accessory of claim 1, wherein said reinforcingprofile is disposed within said band material.
 5. The hair controlaccessory of claim 1, wherein said reinforcing profile is disposed so asto follow the contour of said band.
 6. The hair control accessory ofclaim 1, wherein the length of said slit is in the range of 20% to 80%inclusive, of the longest dimension of said band.
 7. The hair controlaccessory of claim 1, wherein said slit is finished by stitching.
 8. Thehair control accessory of claim 1, wherein said slit is finished withpiping.
 9. A method of shaping a person's hair, wherein a portion of theperson's hair is pulled through a slit in the elongated band of a haircontrol accessory of claim
 1. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein thehair is shaped as a twisted bun.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein thehair is shaped as a French Twist.